During a live theater performance, when the house lights fade, you’re not just a spectator of a production—you’re a participant in a living, breathing narrative. In the silence, you can almost hear the collective heartbeat of a roomful of strangers all waiting to be swept away by another’s pen, sound, costume or character.
Local troupe Vegas Theatre Company strives to go beyond even that. Its artistic mission is to push the envelope beyond the bounds of storytelling. Here, every performance leaps into the exploration of the human condition—to that place where we go to laugh, to cry and to learn something about ourselves and the world.
ACT I: The Beginning
It takes guts to get on stage. It also takes guts to step out of the box and give lesser known projects the spotlight. Vegas Theatre Company has been doing just that for over 22 years, presenting itself as one of the Valley’s most innovative troupes.
Born in 2002 from the dreams of five UNLV graduates, the company, originally dubbed Cockroach Theatre, started out mounting shows in unconventional spaces—loading docks at midnight and various found venues across the city. Today, now classified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and under the VTC name, the company has anchored itself in the Arts District’s Art Square complex since 2012.
”We’ve been here [at Art Square] 12 years, producing seasons of shows, leaning into new and neglected works that are created here,” says executive artistic director Daz Weller.
ACT II: Growing Pains
Despite Vegas’ reputation as an entertainment destination, the theater company’s success hasn’t been a straight path. Despite its longevity, VTC continues to fight for recognition.
“Every day I’m down here working, inevitably someone walks by and says, ‘Oh, what’s this place? It’s a theater? I’ve never been here before’,” says Weller. “So the fight is to be able to reach out to a wider community, and certainly to people who live further away from Downtown.”
When the company first moved into its black box space at Art Square, organizers expected the Arts District to bloom. Post-pandemic, it finally has. But with that growth came new challenges.
“In the last few years, we’ve seen the area grow exponentially … it’s become the place to be,” Weller tells the Weekly. “One of the challenges that comes with that is the cost of being here rises considerably.”
As a nonprofit VTC relies heavily on donations, but Nevada ranks dismally low in philanthropic donations, Weller says. “A nonprofit theater company generally would be looking to have their annual operating budget to sit around 50% to 60% contributed income, meaning sponsorships, and donations. The other 40% comes from earned income,” explains Weller. “At the moment, we have 10% contributed income and 90% earned income.”
Despite the financial hurdles, VTC has grown from an all-volunteer operation to one that pays its artists competitively. “We are so proud of the fact that we’re able to pay our artists—a huge portion of our operating budget actually goes to personnel,” says Weller. The administrative side remains largely volunteer-driven, with Weller and associates working as full-time volunteers as well.
ACT III: Looking Ahead
VTC continues to attract writers, actors, techies, and more, all driven by an inherent love of storytelling. Productions like the kinky immersive horror show Abandon and the burlesque parody CLUElesque tap into the company’s bold creativity and wow audiences. “We have so many extraordinary people in town who are creating new work and who want to be involved,” says Weller. “Some of the best talent from around the world is already living here because of those large commercial ventures on the Strip … that has great spillover effects for the local community.
“Vegas is kind of seen as a kind of cultural underdog,” Weller says. “No one really expects a lot from us, apart from large scale entertainment. To have these extraordinary new pieces of art happening here that can potentially move into the world is really exciting.”
Vegas Theatre Company 1025 S. 1st Street, theatre.vegas.
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